Aggression Flashcards
(143 cards)
1
Q
What is aggression?
A
An act with the intention to harm another person
2
Q
What is proactive aggression?
A
‘Cold-blooded’- it’s a planned method of getting what you want and so it is less emotional e.g. bullying, domination, teasing, name-calling
3
Q
What is reactive aggression?
A
‘Hot-blooded’- it’s angry and impulsive, and is accompanied by physiological arousal e.g. temper tantrums, vengeance.
4
Q
What are neural mechanisms?
A
Areas of the brain and how they communicate (e.g. neurotransmitters) that may be responsible for aggression
5
Q
What are hormonal mechanisms?
A
Chemical substances that circulate in the bloodstream that may be reponsible for aggression.
6
Q
What is the limbic system?
A
A set of subcortical structures in the brain that are thought to be closely involved in coordinating (deciding on and prepare you to do it) and regulating (controlling) emotional behaviour, including agression.
7
Q
Who first linked the limbic structures to emotional behaviour? And who later revised it?
A
James Papez (1937) and then was later revised by Paul Maclean (1952).
8
Q
What is the amygdala?
A
The most important strcuture in agressive behaviour.
9
Q
What is the role of the amygdala?
A
Plays a key role in how an organism assesses and responds to environmental threats and challenges. It is responsible for quickly evaluating the emotional importance of sensory information and prompting and appopriate reponse.
10
Q
What is greater reactivity in the amygdala a predictor of?
A
An important predictor of aggressive behaviour.
11
Q
What does the hippocampus do?
A
Involved in the formation of long-term memories, so an animal can compare the conditions of the current threat to similar past experiences.
12
Q
What does an impaired hippocampal function cause?
A
Prevents the nervous system from putting things into a relevant and meaniful context, and so the amygdala may respond inappropriately to sensory stimuli, resulting in aggressive behaviour.
13
Q
What is serotonin and what does that mean?
A
An inhibitory neurotransmitter, so it slows down and dampens neural activity.
14
Q
What are normal levels of serotonin linked with?
A
Reduced firing neurons, and so inhibit the responses to emotional stimuli that might otherwise lead to an aggresive reponse.
15
Q
What are normal levels of serotonin associated with?
A
A greater degree of behavioural self-control
16
Q
What do low levels of serotonin do?
A
Serotonin usually inhibits the firing of the amygdala. Low levels of serotonin remove this inhibitory effect.
17
Q
What effect does low serotonin have on behaviour?
A
People are less able to control their impulsive agressive behaviour. This means that when the amygdala is stimulated by external events, it becomes more active, causing a person to act on their impulses and making agression more likely.
18
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What did Charles Whitman do and what did doctors find?
A
In 1966, he killed 13 people from an observation tower at Texas University, after killing his wife and mother. He left behind a note asking doctors to examine his brain as he was convinced there was something making him aggressive. He was found to have a tumour pressing agaisnt his amygdala.
19
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What does Charles Whitman suggest about neural mechanisms?
A
This supports that the amygdala plays an important part in aggression in humans, with the tumour potentially making his amygdala more reactive triggering aggression, supporting the validity of the theory.
20
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What did Raleigh et al. (1991) find about serotonin?
A
Supported the importance of serotonin in aggressive behaviour in a study of vervet monkeys. They found that individuals fed on experimnetal diets of high tryptophan (which increases serotonin levels in the brain) exhibited decreased levels of aggression. Individuals fed on diets in low tryptophan exhibited increased agressive behaviour, suggesting the differnece in aggression could be attributed to their sertonin levels.
21
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What does Raleigh et al’s findings suggest about serotonin?
A
Supports the causal link between serotonin and aggression, as when serotonin levels were decreased, aggression increased and vice versa. Therefore this supports the internal validity of the role of serotonin levels impacting aggression.
22
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What does Raleigh et al’s findings suggest about serotonin?
A
Supports the causal link between serotonin and aggression, as when serotonin levels were decreased, aggression increased and vice versa. Therefore this supports the internal validity of the role of serotonin levels impacting aggression.
23
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What is a weakness of both the limbic system and serotonin?
A
The neural explanations of aggression are determinist in that they see aggressive behaviour as governed by internal, biologcial casues that we have no control over e.g. cannot control hormone levels or amygdala reactivity.
24
Q
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What are the implications of the weakness?
A
Has implications for our legal system and wider society. One of the rules of the law is that offenders are seen as legally and morally responsible for their actions. The links between serotonin, the amygdala and aggression, could complicate this principle. Additionaly, this may lead to screening of the population to identify this susceptibility and discriminate against those people.
25
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What does the weakness of serotonin and the amygdala suggest about neural mechanisms?
This has ethical implications for people with the biological predisposition (as they be monitored in their daily activites which breaches their right to privacy) as well as victims of crimes where criminals may not take responsibility for the crimes they have committed. Whilst this doesn't challenge the validity of the explanations, it may make them less palatable explanations of aggression
26
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What did Gospic et al (2011) do?
Exposed some particpants to mild provocation and their responses were recorded using an fMRI. When participants responded aggressively, the scans showed a fast and heightened response by the amygdala. They also found that a benzodiazepine drug (which reduces arousal of the autonomic nervous system) taken before provocation had two effects- decreasing the activity of the amygdala and reducing aggression (halving the rejections in the study).
27
Neural mechanisms: Evaluation: What does Gospic et al
's study suggest?
Supports there is a casual link between the amygdala and aggression, as when provoked, the amygdala showed greater reactivity and this was linked to aggresive responses and when the amygdala reactivity was reduced, aggressive responses also decreased. Therefore this supports the internal validity of the limbic system as a causal factor in aggression.
28
Hormonal mechanisms: What is male behaviour normally like and what has this led to?
Males are generally more aggressive than females. This has led to attention on the male sex hormone testosterone, an androgen reponsible for the development of masculine features.
29
Hormonal mechanisms: What does testosterone have a role in?
Regulating social behaviour (including aggression) via its infleunce on certain areas of the brain implicated in aggression.
30
Hormonal mechanisms: What is the relationship between testosterone and aggression and what evidence is there to support this?
It is thought that higher levels of testosterone are related to aggressive behaviour.
For example, Dolan et al (2001) found a positive correlation between testosterone levels and aggressive behaviours in a sample of 60 male offenders in UK maximum security prisons
31
Hormonal mechanisms: What is progestrone?
A female ovarian hormone that is thought to play an important role in aggression in women.
32
Hormonal mechanisms: Why do levels of progestrone vary?
Vary during the ovulation cycle and are lowest during and just after menstruation.
33
Hormonal mechanisms: How is progestrone linked to aggression?
Low levels of progestrone are linked to increases aggression in women.
34
Hormonal mechanisms: Evaluation: Progestrone: What did Ziomkiewica et al. (2012) find?
Found a negative correlation between progestrone levels and self-reported aggression.
35
Hormonal mechanisms: Evaluation: Progestrone: What do Ziomkiewica et al. (2012) findings tell us about the role of hormonal mechanisms in aggression?
This supports that progestrone levels are linked with aggressive behaviour in humans, where lower levels are correlated with more aggressive behaviour, suggesting the explanation has some validity.
36
Hormonal mechanisms: Evaluation: Progestrone: What did is a counter point for Ziomkiewica et al. (2012) findings?
This is only a correlation, meaning that from the study we cannot strongly support the internal validity of the role of progestrone in aggresion as we cannot determine cause and effect between progestrone levels and aggressive behaviour.
37
Hormonal mechanisms: Evaluation: Testosterone: What did Dabbs et al. (1987) do and find?
Measured salivary testosterone in violent and non-violent criminals. Those with the highest testosterone levels had a history of primarily violent crimes.
38
Hormonal mechanisms: Evaluation: Testosterone: What do Dabbs et al. (1987) findings tell us about the role of hormonal mechanisms in aggression?
This supports that testosterone levels are linked with aggressive behaviour in humans, where higher levels were correlated with more aggressive behaviour, suggesting the explanation has some validity.
39
Genetic factors in aggression: What does propensity for aggressive behaviour lie in?
In a person's genetic make-up i.e. offspring inherit aggression from their parents via genes
40
Genetic factors in aggression: Why have researchers employed a variety of methodological techniques?
To disentangle the relative contributions of nature (genetic inheritance) and nurture (enviornmental influences).
41
Genetic factors in aggression: What are concordence rates?
A measure of similarity (usually a %) between two individuals on a certain trait (in this case, aggression).
42
Genetic factors in aggression: What did Coccaro et al. (1997) do and find?
They studied adult male monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. For aggresive behaviour (defined as direct physcial assault), the researchers found concordence rates of 50% for MZ twins and 19% for DZs. The corresponding figures for verbal aggression were 28% for MZ twins and 7% for DZ twins.
43
Genetic factors in aggression: What does Coccaro et al. (1997) findings suggest about aggression?
Suggests that aggression is at least partly genetic because the concordence rates are higher for MZ twins who share more of their genes (100%) than DZ twins (share 50%) and so the greater similarity in aggression between MZ twins is likely to be due to their greater number of shred genes.
44
Genetic factors in aggression: What is Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA)?
An enzyme which regulates the metabolism (breaking down of a neurotransmitter after a neural impulse has been transmitted from one neurone to another) of serotonin in the brain. The MAOA gene reponsible for producing this enzyme has been associated with aggressive behaviour.
45
Genetic factors in aggression: What variant of the MAOA gene has been associated to aggressive behaviour?
One low activity variant of the MAOA gene (nicknamed the 'warrior gene') leads to low MAOA activity in areas of the brain, and has been associated withe various forms of aggressive behaviour.
46
Genetic factors in aggression: Who did Brunner et al. (1993) study and what did they find?
Studied 28 members of a large Dutch family who were repeatdly involved in impulsively aggressive criminal behaviours such as rape, attempted murder and physcial assault. They found that these men had abnormally low levels of MAOA in their brains and the low-activity version of the MAOA gene.
47
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What did Mertins et al. (2011) study and what did they find?
Studied partipants with low-activity and high-activity variants of the MAOA gene in a money-distributing game. Partipants had to make decisions about whether or not to contribute money for the good of the group. Researchers found that males with the high-activity variant were more cooperative and made fewer aggressive moves than the low-activity participants.
48
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What do Mertins et al. (2011) findings tell us about the role of genetic factors in aggression?
Supports the importance of the MAOA gene in aggresive behaviour. It suggests that possession of the high-activity variant leads to the exact opposite behaviour (cooperation) to that asscoiated with the low- activity variant (aggression).
49
Genetic factors in aggression: What did Caspi et al. do and find?
Studied 500 children. They discovered a variant of gene asscoiated with high levels of MAOA and a variant associated with low levels of MAOA. Those with the low levels of MAOA were significantly more likely to exhibit antisocial behvaiour, but only if they had been maltreated as children. Children with higher levels of MAOA who were maltreated, and those with low levels of MAOA who were not mistreated did not exhibit antisocial behaviour.
50
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What do Caspi et al. findings tell us about the role of genetic factors in aggression?
This suggests that whilst genes are crucial influences on aggressive behaviour, they do not act in isolation. It appears that neither the gene nor the enviornment has a significant affect in isolation. This suggests that it is the interaction between genes and the enviornment that determines behaviours such as aggression (diathesis-stress). This is another example of nature interacting with nurture.
51
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What is a weakness of the supporting evidence ? (crime)
Many twin and adoption studies have focused in individuals who have been convicted of violent crimes. This leads to difficulties when traying to draw meaningful conclusions from the studies. Convictions for violent crime are relatively few comapred to the number of violent attacks that never result in a conviction. Additionaly those classed as 'violent' on the basis of court convictions are not necessarily the most serious, persistent offenders. For example, a convicted murderer may have otherwise had a lifetime free of crime and only committed one violent incidence.
52
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What does the weakness tell us about the role of genetic factors in aggression? (crime)
This might go some way to explain why so many studies have found little to no evidence of heritability for violence. Howver, it also suggests that the resukts from the study may not be externally valid as the samples are not representaive of the majority of people who are involved in aggressive behaviour.
53
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What is a weakness of the supporting evidence? (methods)
Twin and adoption studies make use of different research methods. Some use self-report techniques whilst others use observational techniques. For example, in Miles and Carey (1997) meta-analysis, they found that genetic factors explained a large proportion of the variance in aggressive behaviour in studies that used parental or self-reports. However, those that made use of observational ratings showed significantly less genetic contribution and a greater influence of enviornmental factors.
54
Genetic factors in aggression: Evaluation: What does the weakness tell us about the role of genetic factors in aggression? (methods)
These inconsistences make it difficult to accurately assess the relative contributions of genetic and enviornmental infleunces on aggression. Therefore from the research it is difficult to strongly support the role of genetic factors in aggression.
55
What is ethology?
The study of animal behaviour in natural settings. the findings are then extrapolated to humans because we are all subject to the same forces of natural selection.
56
What do ethological explanations suggest about behaviour?
Suggest that aggression is an innate (instinct) behaviour that is mostly genetically determined.
57
What do ethological explanations suggest aggression is?
Adaptive i.e that it is beneficial to survival, and therefore the animal is alive to reproduce. The aggression is then passed down to the offspring via natural selection.
58
What are conspecifics?
Members of the same species
59
Ethological explanations: What is ritualistic aggression?
A series of aggressive behaviours carried out in a set order.
60
Ritualistic aggression: What did Lorenz note?
That fights between conspecifics involved very little physical damage.
61
Ritualistic aggression: What happens in an aggressive encounter?
Consist of a period of ritualistic signalling in the form of threat displays e.g. baring claws and teeth ect. Such aggression is adaptive because it enables competitors to assess their relative strength before deciding to escalate a conflict. They are intended to intimate
62
Ritualistic aggression: Why are threat displays adaptive?
They are intended to intimidates their opponents and make them back down. This makes costly and dangerous physical aggression less likely to occur ensuring the species survives.
63
Ritualistic aggression: What dis Lorenz point out aggression ended with?
Aggression between conspecifics ends with ritual appeasment displays which indicate acceptance of defeat e.g. wolves exposing their jugulars. This is adaptive because in signalling defeat, it inhibits further aggression by the victor, preventing further damage or death of the loser, again ensuring the survival of the species.
64
How is being aggressive (fighting) adaptive?
One adaptive function of aggression is to establish dominance hierarchies with the winners of conflicts climbing the social hierachry. This increased status leads to other benefits such as access to mates. Therefore aggression is adaptive because dominance over others brings benefits such as access to reources (aiding survival) and mates (reproduction- so aggression is naturally selected.
65
What is the second reason being aggressive (fighting) is adaptive?
Also beneficial to survival because a defeated animal is rarely killed. Instead, they are forced to establish territory elsewhere. Therefore, individuals that win conflicts have greater access to resources as there is less direct competition for things such as food. It also has the added benefit of spreading members of a species out over a wider area, reducing the possibility of starvation for all.
66
Innate releasing mechanisms: What are they?
They are a hard-wired network of neurons in the brain that respond to an environmental stimulus (a sign or releaser such as a facial expression) by initiating a fixed action pattern.
67
Innate releasing mechanisms: What is a fixed action pattern?
A set sequence of behaviours (in this case aggression). These behaviours are stereotyped to occur only in specific conditions and do not require learning (i.e they are innate).
68
Innate releasing mechanisms: What are the 6 main features of fixed action patterns?
1. They are stereotyped (relatively unchanging sequence of behaviours)
2. They are universal (Same behaviour is found in every individual of the species)
3. They are unaffected by learning (same for every individual regardless of experince)
4. They are 'ballistic' (Once behaviour is triggered it follows an inevitable course and cannot be altered before it is complete)
5. They are single-purpose (behaviour only occurs in a specific situation)
6. They are in reponse to an identifiable specific sign stimulus.
69
Innate releasing mechanisms: What does the enviornmental stimulus trigger?
Innate releasing mechanisms (hard-wired set if neurons in brain that respond to this by triggering a fixed action potential).
70
What do innate releasing mechanisms trigger?
Fixed action pattern (a set sequence of behaviours-aggression).
71
Tinbergen study: What are is male stickleback behaviour like?
Male sticklebacks are highly territorial during mating season, where they also develop a red spot on their underbelly. If another male enters their territory, a fixed action pattern is initiated. The sign stimulus that triggers the innate releasing mechanism is the sight of the red spot.
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Tinbergen study: What did Tinbergen do?
Presented the sticklebacks with a series of wooden models of different shapes, some with red spots on their underbelly and some without.
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Tinbergen study: What did Tinbergen find?
Regardless of the shape, if the model had a red spot the stickleback would aggressively display and even attack it. But if there was no red spot, there was no aggression, even if the model looked realistically like a stickleback.
Tinbergen also found that these aggressive FAPs were unchanging from one encounter to another, and once triggered they always ran their course to completion.
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Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What supporting evidence is there for ritualistic aggression?
Anthropological evidence suggests that the benefits of ritualistic aggression are also present in human cultures. For example, Hoebel (1967) found that among Inuit Eskimos, song duels are often used to settle grudges and disputes.
75
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What does the supporting evidence of ritualistic aggression tell us about the ethological explanation of aggression?
This supports that rituals have the effect of reducing actual aggression and preventing injury or death or the combats as predicted by the ethological explanation, supporting that the results from animals may be generalisable to humans as we are subject to the same forced of natural selection.
76
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What undermining evidence is there- Nisbett (1993)?
Nisbett found that there was a north-south divide in the United States for homicide rates, with killings being found much more common amongst white males in southern states than in the northern states. In a lab study, Nisbett et al (1996) found that when white males from the south were insulted in a research situation, they were more liekly than northern white males to become aggressive.
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Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What does the undermining evidence- Nisbett (1993)- suggest about the ethological explantions of aggression?
Because this was only true of reactive aggression, Nisbett concluded that this difference was due to a 'cultural honor' i.e. the aggression is a learned social norm. It is difficult for the ethological explanation, with its view of aggression as instinctive, to explain how culture can override innate infleunces. This calls into question the validity of the explanation as a complete explanation of aggression.
78
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What undermining evidence is there- Goodall (2010)?
Goodall (2010) observed chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. During the 'four year war', male chimps from one community set about systematically slaughtering all members of another group. They did this in a coordinated and predetermined fashion. On some occasions, a victim was held down by rival chimpanzees while others hit and bit it in an attack lasting up to 20 minutes. The violence continued despite the fact the victims were offering signals of appeasment and defencelessness. In other species such as lions, males will often kill the cubs of other males, and male chimpanzees will routinely kill members of their group.
79
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What does the undermining evidence- Goodall(2010)- suggest about the ethological explantions of aggression?
The appeasment signals did not inhibit the aggressive behaviour of the attacking chimpanzees as predicted by the ethological explanation and cast doubt on the claim that much of animal aggression is ritualist rather than real. Additionaly, killing was systematic rather than accidental, which goes agaisnt the prediction that a defeated animal is 'rarely' killed to ensure the survival of the wider species and spread the species out over a wider area to reduce competition pressure for resources. Therefore, this calls into question the validity of the ethological explanation as an explanation of aggression.
80
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What supporting evidence is there- e.g. Brunner et al?
There is lots of evidence to support the ethological explanation. For example, Brunner et al (1993) found that the low-activity variant of the MAOA gene is closely associated with aggressive behaviours, suggetsing an innate basis. Additionaly, research on the relationship between the limbic system and aggression provides evidence for the existence of innate releasing mechanisms for aggression in the brain in humans and other animals.
81
Ethological explanations: Evaluation: What does the supporting evidence- Brunner (1993)- suggest about the ethological explantions of aggression?
This supports the validity of the ethological explanation of aggression as the evidence supports its suggestion that aggression is genetically determined, heritable and adaptive. This is because Brunner et al's study supports the innate basis of aggression, as suggested by the ethological explanation of aggression.
82
What do evolutionary explanations of aggression suggest about aggression?
They suggest that aggression enhanced survival and reproduction and was therefore naturally selected. This means that aggressive genes are passed on to successive generations and so aggression becomes more widespread in the population.
83
What are the evolutionary explanations of aggression (there are 3)?
- Competition for resources
- Sexual competition- intimidating or eliminating rivals for females
- Sexual jealousy- deterring mates from sexual infidelity
84
Sexual jealousy: What is aggression motivated by?
Suggests that male aggression (violence) agaisnt their partners is motivated by jealously to ensure their own paternity and genetic success.
85
Sexual jealousy: What can men never be certain of?
Unlike women, men can never be certain that they fathered a child. This paternity uncertanity gives rise to the threat of cuckoldry.
86
Sexual jealousy: What is cuckoldry?
That the man raises an offspring that is not his own and so contributes to the survival of a rival's genes and is left with fewer reources to invest in his own offspring in the future.
87
Sexual jealousy: What happened to men who could avoid cuckoldry and how has this evolved?
Men in our evolutionary past who could avoid cuckoldry were more reproductively succesful. So male aggressive strategies evolved(were adaptive) to help retain their mates and deter them from sexual infidelity.
88
Sexual jealousy: What did Wilson and Daly (1996) identify?
Male retention strategies- direct guarding and negative inducements
89
Sexual jealousy: What is direct guarding?
(strategies that restrict freedom)- involves male vigilance over a partner's behaviour e.g. checking where she's been, who she's been with, coming home early, installing tracking apps on her mobile ect.
90
Sexual jealousy: What are negative inducements?
(strategies to deter infidelity)- threats of the consquences of infidelity (e.g. 'i will kill you') or violence to prevent her from straying.
91
Sexual jealousy: What did Wilson et al (1996) find?
That women who reported mate retention strategies in their partners were twice as likely to have suffered physical violence at the hands of their partners (73% required medical attention and 53% feared for their lives). Therefore mate retention strategies are linked to physical violence.
92
Sexual jealousy: How was aggression adaptive?
Aggression was adaptive in our evolutionary history as it would have made it more liekly that males would reproduce successfully by solving adaptive problems of sexual infidelity and cuckoldry.
93
Sexual jealousy: What happens to the aggressive genes?
Aggresive genes for males to be aggressive towards their partners are passed down on to successive generations and so aggression becomes more widespread in the population.
94
Competition for resources: What would aggressive individuals be able to do?
Aggressive individuals (particularity men) would have been able to compete (against other men) for resources such as food.
95
Competition for resources: What did aggressive enhance?
Aggression enhanced survival and likelihood of reproducing succesfully (especially as women are attracted to men with resources), and so is an adaptive behaviour that is naturally selected to solve the adaptive problem of gaining resources.
96
Competition for resources: What happens to the aggressive genes?
The aggressive genes are passed on to successive generations and so aggression becomes more widespread in the population.
97
Sexual competition: What did ancestral men have to do?
Ancestral men seeking access to females would have had to compete with other males (sexual competition).
98
Sexual competition : What happens to aggressive men?
Aggressive men would be more able to compete with other men for access to mates, making it more likley they would reproduce succesfully.
99
Sexual competition : Why is it adaptive?
It is an adaptive behaviour taht is naturally selected to solve the problem of rivals for females.
100
Sexual competition : What happens to the aggressive genes?
The aggressive genes for males to be aggressive towards other males are passed on to successive generations and so aggression becomes more widespread in the population.
101
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What is the supporting evidence?
Daly and Wilson (1988) found that many tribal socities bestow increased status and honour to men who have committed murder. Campbell (1993) found that this was also the case in industrialised societies such as the USA . The most violent gang members often have the highest status among their peers.
102
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What does the supporting evidence suggest about the evolutionary explanation of human aggression?
This supports that aggression may have evolved in repsonse to the adaptive problem of access to resources, as individuals who are aggressive gain status and reources and so are more liekly to survive and reproduce succesfully. This means that aggressive genes are passed down to subsequent generations. AS the result =s are simialr in many diverse cultures, this implies that aggression may have evolved rather than being a result of cultural learning as proposed by the theory.
103
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What is a weakness of the supporting evidence?
It is extremely difficult to test hypotheses about the evolution of behaviours to solve problems of adaption in our evolutionary past. Most of the research is therefore correlational, for example findings between mate retention strategies and aggression. This does not enable us to draw cause and effect conclusions. Even a very strong correlation between aggressive behaviours and evolutionary influenced characteristics does not allow us to conclude that sexual jealousy , for instance, causes aggressive behaviour.
104
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What does the weakness of the supporting evidence suggest about the evolutionary explanation of human aggression?
Because these two variables are just measured and not manipulated, correlational research can never rule out the effects of other factors on aggressive behvaiour (cultural differences, for example). Therefore from the research, it is difficult to strongly support the internal validity of the evolutionary explanations of human aggression.
105
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What is the undermining evidence?
Human can be incredibly cruel. For example, there was wide-scale slaughter of whole groups in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Humans will also torture and mutilate their opponents when they have already been defeated and no longer cause a threat. Anthropological evidence suggests that this may be more of a consquence of deindividuation effects than of evolutionary adaptions.
106
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What does the undermining evidence suggest about the evolutionary explanation of human aggression?
This suggests that the evolutionary explanations may not be entirely valid as they cannot explain all instances of human aggression. In this case, if the aggression were to solve the adaptive problems proposed by the theory, the aggression would have stopped after the opponent was defeated and no longer cause a threat to the male's resources of partner's fidelity. This was clearly not the case and so the theory cannot be considered to be completely valid as an explanation of aggression.
107
Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What is the real-world application?
An important implication of the research in this area is that mate-retention tactics may be seen as early indicators of potential violence against a female partner. The use of mat-retention tactics can alert friends and family members to the danger signs that might lead to future violence in relationships. Realtionship counselling may then be used before the situation escalates to the type of violence seen in research studies.
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Evolutionary explanations: Evaluation: What does the real-world application suggest about the evolutionary explanation of human aggression?
This supports the external validity if the evolutionary explanations of human aggression as they can be used to help reduce aggression in relationships.
109
Deindividuation theory: What happens when we are in an individuated state?
We are easily identified by others, our behaviour is constrained to social norms (we live in a society where most aggressive behaviour is discouraged.
110
Deindividuation theory: What leads to deindividuation?
When we are in certain situations that increase our anonymity (e.g. crowds), this leads to the loss of self-identity and personal reponsibility called deindividuation.
111
Deindividuation theory: Why does deindividuation happen?
This is because when we are in a crowd, our attention becomes focussed outward to the events around us so we pay less attention to our own beliefs and feelings (lowering of private self-awareness). We are less-critical and evaluative, fostering a deindividuated state.
112
Deindividuation theory: What is the second reason we foster a deindividuated state?
Our public self-awareness is lowered. Being in a crowd, we realise our behaviour is less likely to be judged by others and so we care less about how others see us and become less accountable for our aggressive actions, fostering a deindividuated state.
113
Deindividuation theory: What happens in a deindividuated state (social norms)?
Causes our behaviour to be less constrained by social norms (we lose our inhibitions) and behaviour becomes more impulsive, emotional and disinhibited. This increases the likelihood of antisocial behaviour such as aggression.
114
Deindividuation theory: What happens in a deindividuated state (Responsibility)?
Responsibility is shared throughout the crowd as we assume the group identity, so we experince less personal guilt at harmful aggression directed towards others, making aggressive behaviour more likely.
115
Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: How does Johnson and Downing's study support deindividuation theory?
Conducted a study where female partipants had to give (fake) electric shocks to a confederate. In one condition, the partipants were dressed in a KKK-type outfit with masks hiding their faces. Partipants in another condition dressed as nurses, a third group (control) wore normal clothes. Comapred with the control group, the KKK-dressed partipants gave more (and more intense) electric shocks, and the 'nurses' gave fewer at lower levels. 'Nurses' were also more compassionate towards their 'victim'.
116
Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: What does Johnson and Downing's study suggest about deindividuation as an explanation of aggression?
This suggests that both aggression and prosocial behaviour are potential outcomes of deindividuation, and that normative cues in the situation determine which is most likely to occur because of the increased anonymity in the KKK group which makes the partipants loose their private and public self-awareness, causing them to enter a deindividuated state. This then means their behaviour is less constrained by social norms leading to aggressive behaviour. This supports that deindividuation is a valid explanation of aggression when normative cues are present.
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Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: How does Zimbardo's (1969) study support the theory?
Groups of 4 female undergraduates were required to deliver electric shocks to another student to 'aid learning'. Half the partipants wore bulky lab coasts that hid their faces, sat in seperate cubicles and were never refered to as their names. The other participants wore their normal clothes, were given large name tags and were introduced to each other by name. They were also able to see each other when seated at the shock machines. Partipants in the hooded condition were more liekly to press a button that they believed would give shocks to a 'victim' in another room. They held the shock button down for twice as long as did identifiable participants.
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Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: What did Zimbardo's study suggest about deindividuation as an explanation of aggression?
This supports the link between anonymity, deindividuation and aggressive behaviour as it suggests that when partipants were more anonymous, their private self-awareness was lowered (they paid less attention to their own thoughts and feelings about harming someone else) ans their public self-awareness was lowered (they cared less about how others would see them if they carried out the harmful behaviour). This suggests that deindividuation occured with the partipants experiencing a loss of self-identity and personal responsibility for their actions which then led to them giving long electric shocks (aggressive behvaiour). Therefor basis of the research we can be confident about the valisity if deindividuation as an explanation of aggression.
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Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: How does Watson's (1973) findings support the theory?
Watson collected data on the extent to which warriors in 23 societies changed their appearance prior to going to war (e.g. through war point, tribal costumes ect) and the extent to which they killed, tortured or mutilated their victims. 12 out of the 15 socities that changed their appearance were highly aggressive, compared to 1 out of the 8 who did not change their appearance.
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Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: What did Wilson's findings suggest about deindividuation as an explanation of aggression?
This supports the external validity of the theory as an explanation of aggression as the thoery can account for real life instances of aggression whereby the anonymity from changing appearance triggers deindividuation and therefore more aggressive behaviour. (reference to flow diagram)
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Deindividuation theory: Evaluation: What is a real-world application of the theory?
Can help us to understand aggressive behaviour online, including online gaming services such Xbox Live. These service have many features that promote a psychological state of deindividuation. There is a reduction of personal identity, with players using 'handles' to identify themselves; game-playing in such an enviornmnet is arousing and immersive; there is the presence of a 'crowd' in the form of an audience.
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What is media?
Communication channels through which news entertainment and data are made available e.g. TV, computer games
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What are media influences on aggression?
Changes in behaviour (aggression) that are attributed to exposed media (then use definition of media)
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of TV and film on aggression: What was the procedure of Bandura et al's (1963) study?
Replicated the Bobo doll study (children watched adult either playing aggressively towards a doll, or playing calmly with a doll), but instead of the role model being live, the children watched a film of the adult role model being aggressive towards the Bobo doll.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of TV and film on aggression: What was the findings of Bandura et al's (1963) study?
Found very simialr results to the orginal study with children imitating the aggressive behaviour of the role model (and also a cartoon version).
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of TV and film on aggression: What was the conclusion of Bandura et al's (1963) study?
Suggests that children learn aggressive behaviour via social learning that occurs via media as well as face-to-face.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of computer games on aggression: What was the procedure of Bartholow and Anderson's (2002) experiment?
43 undergraduate (22 men and 21 women) were randomly assigned to play either a violent (Mortal Kombat) or nonviolent (PGA Tournament Golf) video game for 10 minutes.
Partipants then competed with a confederate in a reaction time task that allowed provocation and retaliation. This blasts white noise at volumes chosen by the winner to punish their opponent. Punishment levels set by partipants for their opponents severed as a measure of aggression.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of computer games on aggression: What was the findings of Bartholow and Anderson's (2002) experiment?
Those who played the violent video game selected significantly higher noise levels (5.97 decibels) compared with non-violent players (4.6 decibels). This effect was larger for men than women.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of computer games on aggression: What was the conclusion of Bartholow and Anderson's (2002) experiment?
Violent video games lead to more aggressive behaviour.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of computer games on aggression: What was the procedure of DeLisi et al. (2013) correlation?
Studied 277 juvenile offenders, all with histories of serious aggressive behaviours such as hitting a teacher/ parent/ gang fighting.
Using structured interviews, they gathered data on several measures of aggression and violent computer game-playing.
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Media infleunce on aggression: Key study- effect of computer games on aggression: What was the findings of DeLisi et al. (2013) correlation?
Found that offenders's aggressive behaviour was significantly correlated with how often they played violent computer games and how much they enjoyed them.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: What is a weakness of the studies?
Many studies of media aggression fail to account for other variables that explain why some people display aggressive behaviour and why those same people choose to play violent video games. For example, Ferguson et al (2009) found that effects of violent media content on aggressive behaviour disappears when other potential influences such as trait aggression, family violence and mental health are taken into account.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: What does the weakness of the studies tell us about media infleunces on aggression?
This suggests that other risk factors, rtaher than exposure to media violence, are the primary causes of aggressive behaviour. As such, the research may not be able to strongly support the validity of the proposal that media infleunces lead to aggressive behaviour.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: Supporting evidence that media infleunces behaviour, but does not have to be aggressive?
Granic and Lobel (2013) found that playing a violent shooter games can improve a player's caapcity to think about object in 3D, develop problem-solving skills and enhance creativity.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: What does the supporting evidence suggest?
This suggests that playing violent computer games does not always have anti-social consquences (aggression), and that playing such games could have importnat implications for education and career development, as research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement un STEM subjects.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: Weakness of correlation studies?
Whilst correlational studies allow us to investigate realistic forms of aggression, we cannot draw causal conclusions from them because no variables are manipulated and there is no random allocation of partipants to violent or non-violent conditions. Therefore, a positive correlation between viewing or playing violent media and aggressive behaviour could be because aggressive media causes people to become more aggressive or because people who are already aggressive select aggressive media.
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Media influence on aggression: Evaluation: What does the weakness of the correlation studies suggest about the infleunce of media on aggressive behaviour?
The directional causality cannot be settled by correlational studies and as such from this evidence we cannot strongly support the internal valisity if the suggestion taht media infleunces aggressive behaviour.
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Desensitisation: What normally happens?
Normally, when we witness violent actions, we experince physiological arousal associated with the sympathetic nervous system e.g. increased heart rate, higher blood pressure ect.
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Desensitisation: What is desentisation?
The idea that repeated exposure to violence (e.g. violent computer games or other violent media) reduces normal levels of physiological and psychological arousal associated with anxiety, making aggressive behaviour more likely.
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Desensitisation: Affect on physiological arousal?
Reduced physiological arousal associated with SNS- so heart rate doesn't increase as much, don't sweat as much, i.e. less physiologically anxious
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Desensitisation: Affect in psychological arousal?
Reduced psychological arousal, through repeated exposure to media violence promotes a belief that using aggression to solve conflict is socially acceptable, less empathy for victims, injuries minimised or dismissed, less negative attitudes, which makes aggression more likely.
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Desensitisation: Evalaution: Weisz and Earls (1995)- supporting evidence?
They showed their participants the film Straw Dogs, which contains a prolonged and graphic scene of rape. Partipants then watched a re-enactment trail. Their results were compared to those who had watched a non-sexually violent film. Comapred to those who watched a non-violent film, male viewers of Straw Dogs showed a greater acceptance if rape myths and sexual aggression, expressed less sympathy towards the rape victim in the trail and were less likely to find the defendant guilty. There was no effect of film type on female partipants.
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Desensitisation: Evalaution: What does Weisz and Earls (1995) supporting evidence suggest about the theory of why the media infleunces aggression ?
This supports the predictions made by desentisation. Partipants who are exposed to violent media, showed reduce psychological arousal with anxiety (e.g. less empathy for yhe victim), supporting the validity of desentisation as an explanation of media infleunce on aggression.
